The cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash. Cucumbers originated in India and have been cultivated for at least 3000 years in Western Asia, and probably introduced to other parts of Europe by the Romans. Records of cucumber cultivation appear in France in the 9th century, England in the 14th century, and in North America by the mid-16th century.
Cucumbers and cucumber extracts have long been recognized as having anti-inflammatory properties, and have been used topically for various types of skin problems, including swelling under the eyes and sunburn. Cucumber was very popular in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome, where it was used not only as a food but also for its skin healing properties.
However, the active component(s) have not been reported.
It has now been discovered that the iminosugar acid ido-BR1 occurs in older cucumber varieties but is absent in certain modern commercial varieties. It has been shown to be a major component of certain cucumber fruits, certain squashes and gourds and is the only iminosugar acid in cucumber.
Iminosugar acids (ISAs) constitute a subclass of the more widely distributed class of phytochemicals known as iminosugars. Many known ISAs are phytochemicals, present as secondary metabolites in plant tissues (where they may play a role in defense). While iminosugars are widely distributed in plants (Watson et al. (2001) Phytochemistry 56: 265-2951), the iminosugar acids are much less widely distributed.
Thus, the discovery that the botanical distribution of the iminosugar acid ido-BR1 correlates with medicinal plants used for the treatment of inflammatory disease is of great significance.
The synthesis of ido-BR1 has been described in Fleet et al. (1986) Tetrahedron Lett. 27: 3205-3208.